Fidel Castro makes rare public appearance to promote his memoirs, 'Guerrilla of Time'

Cuban Ambassador to Russia Juan Valdes Figueroa (R) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) stand next to the Russian edition of the former Cuban leader Fidel Castro's two-volume memoirs during the book presentation in Moscow, on October 17, 2011.

Former Cuban president Fidel Castro released his two-volume memoir "Guerilla of Time" on Friday in a rare public appearance, AFP reported.

The memoirs are 1,000 pages long, and trace Castro's life from his birth up until the Cuban revolution in 1958, when he succeeded in turning Cuba into communist country aligned with the Soviet Union, AFP reported.

Castro's memories are reported through conversations with journalist Katiuska Blanco.

"Guerilla of Time" is in the same vein as Fidel's last book, "One Hundred Hours with Fidel," a novel of recorded conversations between Castro and Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet. The book was published in 2006, right after the former Cuban leader handed over power to his brother, Raul, amid a health crisis, according to AFP.